I agree with the last post. The Torsolite is going to fair better through time too. You're right though, a good night's sleep is crucial, so I would suggest ordering both pads, and sending the one back that you dont want. Although its by no means a neccessity, I believe that a good sleeping pad is one of the most important pieces of gear you can carry.

On thin pads, like those you referenced, small volume is beneficial. Therefore I would choose the Torsolite.

If you think it's too small and want more area then consider the POE Max Thermo 3/4. For 2oz more than the Prolite 3 you get a 2.5" thick mattress. For the same weight as the Prolite 3 you can get the uninsulated POE Max Compact 3/4.

I have both pads, the torsolite and the prolite 3 short. The torsolite is a little bit more comfortable and warm than the prolite 3, except of course that it is smaller. It does not work very well for me by itself, so I use it in combination with a Gossamer Gear torso sized nitelite pad.

The combination of the two pads gives a total length of 60 inches compared to 48 for the thermarest. I find that combination way more comfortable at the same weight (10 oz + 3.25 oz) as the thermarest.

If you use a backpack made to take a pad as a frame, like the Gossamer gear packs, or similar, the above combination works really well.

It's comparable to the BMW pad in quality, construction, and robustness. It's a little larger, but it's even just a tad lighter. It's still not as large as the Pro-Lite 3 3/4 length.

I've owned all three pads. The Pro-Lite 3 3/4 length simply can't compare in terms of comfort or "heft" of the materials used. I sold mine to a co-worker. He loves it as do four other co-workers. I'm the sole exception who prefers the BMW and POE to the Pro-Lite (they've never tried the POE or BMW however; they are just happy with the Pro-Lite).

I prefer the POE in warmer weather, and the BMW in colder weather. I think that the weight-savings hour-glass shape of the POE makes it colder when the mercury drops.

IMHO, these pads are more for comfort than for insulation. I sleep warmer on closed cell egg-crate cut foam pads from GossamerGear. I rarely use either the POE or BMW self-inflatables.

I have been using the BMW pad since I got it. I haven't slept on the Prolite pad but it does appear to be similar...although, as others have said, the construction of the BMW pad looks heaftier.

I combine this pad with the NightLight pad from Gossamer Gear. This combination weighs the same as the Prolite and you get far more padding or insulation for your lower section in cooler temperatures. I find this combination to be far more versatile and I highly recommend it.

David, Thanks for your post. I'm purely a back sleeper and really appreciate you pointing out the downside to the hourglass shape for side (and possibly front) sleepers. I'll try to keep that in mind when giving advice about the various hourglass shaped POE pads.

You ought to check out the reviews of the Torsolite at www.backpackgeartest.org. The guy who reviewed it was instructed to test the repair kit, and he had to punch a hole in it to do so - it never failed naturally. Not proof of anything other than the fact that the BMW's reputation for being bombproof is not limited to this thread.

By robust here is what I meant: just feeling the shell of the ProLite3 and the shell's thickness, it feels thinner then the Uber-Lite and TorsoLite and much flimsier. The shells of the Uber-Lite and TorsoLite feels thicker. The difference is really quite noticeable, IMHO. Placing the same weight (a partially loaded pack caused it to compress further than either the Uber-Lite or TorsoLite with the same pack resting on it. Used it only once and sold it. So, no long term testing involved - just side-by-side comparison with the other two.

The reason a prolite short is only 3 oz more than the much smaller BMW is that the materials are much lighter/thiner. If indeed they don't fail, a Torsolite sized Thermarest would probably clock in at 7 or 8 oz. I'd love that. I think the BMW is probably overbuilt.

I have had the Thermarest Prolite 3 Short for just over 2 years and used on various terrain at least one trip a month. I think the extra thickness of the Prolite 4 would help on snow, but I just add a closed cell pad under the Prolite 3. Even though I bring a repair kit, I have never had to repair it. With that stated I would say its durability meets my needs. I cannot compare to the BMW Torso Lite not ever seeing one in person.